nonstop (merthur AU)

nineteen

unedited so sorry if it's crap
~
arthurs heart had shattered so badly he swore he could hear the broken prices rattling around in his empty ribcage

merlin had only just woken up, according to the nurses, and was still incredibly drowsy.

his bare skin was exposed in the absence of a shirt. the only thing he had on him were the track pants arthur had given him weeks ago and the bulky, cone-shaped contraption, strapped over his mouth and ears, forcing the steady rise and fall of his chest

one look at the marks on his skin had both the teenagers flinching. he had more bruises on his pale skin than stars in the sky it seemed, and weird crescent shaped marks that looked almost like...

'are those?' arthur asked, dreading the answer

'cigarette marks' gwen breathed before she left the room, hand clutched to her mouth

merlins eyelids fluttered as he slowly gained full consciousness, he started to turn over but was stopped by the nurses hands

arthur made a noise of confusion, stepping towards the black haired boy defensively

'see that red mark in the back of his hand?' the nurse asked 'that's his I.V'

arthur still had no idea what was happening. the nurse rolled her eyes making arthur scowl

'he hates it, it digs into his hand ever time he moves so we're trying to stop him from moving to drastically. his biggest fear is nee-'

'needles! i know!' arthur snapped, suddenly defensive

he and the nurse both looked at each other, stunned that he would speak in such a way

'sorry, im not usually like this'

'you're in shock' she nodded knowingly 'it's perfectly normal'

'what happened to him?' he asked, defeatedly

'i think he should tell you that arthur'

'how do you know my name?'

'all he said when they found him apparently' she smiled, closing the door softly behind her. the thud leaving a slight ringing sound

arthur looked around, he'd never been in intensive care before. he thought it was rather roomy, like the size of one of his kitchens. there was another bed in the corner of the room but it seemed to be unoccupied.

'hey' a soft voice spoke up, slightly muffled from the machine

'hey!' arthur smiled, walking to the chair placed beside the bed 'how're you?'

merlin only smiled gently, eyes not budging from arthurs face

'merlin?' arthur asked, reaching over and running his hands through the younger boys hair

merlin lent into the touch, closing his eyes

arthur looked to the window and waved at the nurse with his spare hand

'can i take this off?' he mouthed, pointing to the machine on merlins face

she nodded, grinning at the two

arthur blushed and pulled it off, trying his hardest to not bump any bruises or scratches

'im alright, a little beat up but alright' merlin said, eyes locked onto arthurs yet again

'a little?' arthur scoffed 'you're in intensive care for gods sake, what even happened?'

merlins smile finally faltered and he looked away